The Red
by SilverShadowKitsune
Summary: A look at what passed between Jim and Spock during the scene on the bridge and what it brings in the future.


Spock _The Red_

As Jim stared down the Vulcan, who was currently captain of the _Enterprise, _and tried to show that Spock was emotionally compromised, he realized that he was an idiot. _Yeah, I'm the only person out there stupid enough to tick off a guy three times stronger than I am._

And Jim could tell that some of his words were hitting home, but not enough to break through that emotional control. _C'mon, think of what pisses you off…He used my dad against me…might as well give it a shot._

"You never loved her!"

"NO!"

_They say freak,  
When you're singled out,  
The red, well it filters through.  
_

_ Yeah, I'm an idiot, _was running through his frantic thoughts as the Vulcan repeatedly knocked him down. What _was _surprising him was the fact that _no one _was reacting to Spock's rage. Not Bones, not the security officers, not Uhura. Either he was less popular than he thought, or they were even more scared than he was.

_  
So lay down, the threat is real,  
When his sight goes red again.  
Seeing red again,  
Seeing red again.  
_

And then he was pinned by the neck against one of the consoles, Spock's high heated skin searing his nerves. _Okay, he's emotionally compromised. Can someone get him off of me now? _But the pressure against his windpipe just continued to increase, to the point where black was starting to form at the edges of his vision. _Vulcans are touch telepaths, right? Spock, if you can hear me, you've got to stop._

"Spock!" The older Vulcan who had been on deck (_Sarek? Spock's dad_ ) called out to him in an authoritative voice, but Spock still didn't let go.

_Spock, you're upset, and you miss her, I get it. You can't make decisions when you're like this, not until you can figure out what you're truly dealing with. I already know how to deal with this. I was on Tarsus; I can lead. If we don't do something, a lot more worlds are going to vanish. Please, Spock, let me breathe at least! _Jim hoped that his thoughts reached the Vulcan because if not, he was about to die.

_  
This change, he won't contain,  
Slip away, to clear your mind.  
When asked, who made it show,  
The truth, he gives in to most.  
_

And then Jim got a torrent of images flowing into his brain, just like it had with the Spock from the other universe. Of Vulcan children, larger than him, jeering at him, taunting him, calling his mother a whore and his father a traitor to his face, all for the purpose of getting a reaction from Spock.

_Yeah, the idiots out there can hurt. But Spock, I need to do this, or everyone on this ship will lose everything like you did. Not everyone is as strong as you are; let me try to stop this while we can._

All of this was passing between them at speeds Jim didn't know his brain could operate at, and the black was creeping further into his vision. So Jim did one thing that he never thought he would. Rather than fight further and waste precious oxygen, Jim submitted to the unyielding force against his life veins.

_  
So lay down, the threat is real,  
When his sight goes red again.  
_

Then suddenly the pressure against his throat was gone, and he was able to draw in precious air, his lungs gasping for it. His eyes wearily opened to see Spock looking at him warily and viewing his hand in the same manner. The Vulcan's head turned to view Uhura, before looking at the floor in shame.

"Doctor McCoy, it appears I am no longer fit for duty," he stated, and went through the motions of resigning his command. Jim managed to flip his body over on the console and prop himself up, just in time for Spock to walk off the bridge without acknowledging another soul.

_  
So lay down, the threat is real,  
When his sight goes red again.  
So lay down, the threat is real,  
When his sight goes red again.  
_

And somehow, Spock had managed to get his act together enough to rescue Pike and destroy the _Narada_, and save Earth in the same instance. And then Spock was being stubborn and not responding to communications, and then he was on the Bridge asking to be First Officer.

Missions came, and sometimes Spock seemed to lose his temper, luckily not at Jim again, and always managed to make the mission succeed. Whether it was cultural misunderstandings or attacking Klingons, Spock lost his temper but managed to keep it under control in the same instance.

And then he was acting strangely. Often times he seemed to be close to losing his temper at the smallest upsets. Jim once saw him come close to reaming out a yeoman for leaving a PADD partly off a desk. Another time, during an away mission, he snapped at Jim for wandering "too far away" for Spock's tastes.

And then there was the memorable time that Spock almost broke a diplomat's arm for placing a casual hand on Jim's shoulder. Spock had growled out, "If you touch him again, I will break your neck," which caused the diplomat to turn white and every member of the _Enterprise _nearby to freeze with shock.

After a moment, Spock had released the diplomat, and turned to stare at Jim with a strange darkness in his eyes, before moving away and requesting to be beamed back to the _Enterprise._ Jim made a mental note to talk to Bones, and if that didn't yield any answers, to make a call to the Vulcan colony.

_  
Seeing red again,  
Seeing red again,  
Seeing red again,  
Seeing red again,  
Seeing red again,  
Seeing red again,  
Seeing red again,  
Seeing red....  
_

And now, Jim was faced with a situation he never could have imagined existed. The other Spock had explained Pon Farr after his First Officer had begun to act strangely, and Jim couldn't believe what he had been told. Heat? Telepathic connection? These things mean nothing to someone without psychic abilities, and yet the other Spock had spoken as if this would be no problem for Jim to deal with.

_  
They say freak...  
When you're singled out.  
The red, it filters through..._

He had spoken to Bones, given instructions on what to do for the next couple of days to Scotty and Sulu, and now he stood outside of Spock's door. The indicator light showed that Spock didn't want to be disturbed in any situation. _Yeah, since when do I listen to a little light on a door?_ He quickly inputted his captain's override, and entered the room.


End file.
